Plus One
by AnonymousDH
Summary: Both Donna and Harvey get invited to Scottie's wedding and Harvey wants nothing more than to bring Donna as his plus one. Thinking she's still with Mitchell he never actually asks her and does something he's never done before. Going alone to the event, unaware she'll eventually be alone too. [Darvey] Set after 5.16
Hi everyone, here's a quick ficlet turned one shot I wrote this weekend. Just one of the countless possibilities of what has to happen before Donna and Harvey finally see the light. I hope you like it and maybe leave a review? x

* * *

 **Plus One**

His fingers trace the embossed letters of the off white invitation in his hand. He knew this day would come, sooner or later. But this soon? He'd said he'd call her, it was a lie. He knew it, maybe she did too all along.

He doesn't regret not calling her.

Not at all.

He's actually happy she's moved on, for real this time. It's not like he couldn't move on from her, because he could. She just had this habit of showing up at those wrong moments. When he was finally on a page with Donna again for example. Just like last time she showed up in the middle of Mike's trial.

It's only been six months later and he's still alone. He still hasn't told Donna exactly how he feels about her, but she is still with Mitchell right? She would have told him if they were over, wouldn't she?

His eyes fall down on the bottom lines.

 **S + N**

 **RSVP**

 **by February 20** **th**

 **M …**

 **( ) Happily Accepts**

 **( ) Regretfully Declines**

 **Number attending …**.

His eyes flicker up, looking over towards her cubicle and his lips curl up just a little. There's nothing more he wants than for her to be his plus one. Not because it's a firm event, or it's convenient. But because she's the one for him.

For real, forever.

He sees her lift an envelope he recognises instantly. It's the same one that he just held in his hands and he sighs loudly. Why did she have to invite her too? Was this some sort of last power play? He notices how her smile fades a little and he's not sure as to why that's happening. After all she's the one who has a real plus one , so it couldn't be that. _Could it?_

Her gaze lifts and meets his for a second, there's a sadness in her eyes he can read from a mile away and he still wonders why. It's not like he's the one getting married. He pushes away the thoughts, but deep down he already knows there's only one woman he would want that with.

She's sitting only 12 feet away, and has been sitting there for the past 12 years.

 _If only he could tell her._

 _._

The subject of the wedding isn't addressed more than necessary. It's become one of those other things they decide to pretend has never happened and they don't talk about it. All they acknowledged was that they both got the invite. She tells him she would go. That's all, nothing more, nothing less and he just nods. Words about her joining him being left unspoken as he turns around.

His shoulders hanging lower than usual as he walks back to his desk. His hand falling on the invite again as he grabs a pen with his other hand. Letting out a sigh as he does something he's never done before.

 **S + N**

 **RSVP**

 **by February 20** **th**

 **M …** _ **Harvey Reginald Specter**_ **…**

 **(X) Happily Accepts**

 **( ) Regretfully Declines**

 **Number attending …** _ **One**_ **..**

Not bringing a plus one to an event.

.

She pretends she didn't see him swallow when she told him she'd go. She pretends it was unintentional not telling him she'd go alone. Because she'd dumped Mitchell months ago. Around the same time he showed up at her door. She pretends she wouldn't have wanted him to ask her as his plus one and she pretends not to care that he'll bring a random girl to this event now.

She's become so good at pretending, sometimes she doesn't even realise she is pretending to be happy.

* * *

 *** Wedding Day ***

She settles herself down on the backseat of the car. It's a black Lexus, but not _his_ black Lexus. Her hands, fingernails perfectly coated with a deep red, folded on her lap. Her fingers fidgeting with a bracelet clad around her arm. She pretends to have forgotten it was a gift from him, but can you ever forget?

She lets her head rest against the window, her auburn locks bound together on one side, exposing her freckled ivory skin. She pretends she didn't do this because of him and she also pretends she's not nervous as she waits for the building. She knows she's got no reason to be nervous, but somehow she is.

She hears the door open on the other side of the car and her eyes close for a second as she feels the backseat being pressed down a little by the person sitting next to her now. She shivers as she feels the hand touch her arm and she turns her head to the right.

"Hey," her voice is soft, not as happy as she usually is.

"Donna," the petite brunette gives her best friend a small smile. It's weird for both of them. Both without the men they love, but honestly she doesn't have the excuse the young associate has.

Her man is not behind bars, but it's not her man either.

.

They decided to stick together. Not that Rachel had gotten an invite, but she deserved a night out and Donna really didn't want to go alone.

The black Lexus pulls up behind the one with the license plate she'll never be able to forget even if she wanted to. Her heart starts beating faster as she sees how Ray gets out at the front. Her eyes fixated on the door behind the driver's seat, but Ray doesn't open it.

She's confused and taken slightly of guard as the driver of her own car opens the door for them. She steps outside the car first, her eyes now directed on the door she knows he's sitting behind. She tries to pretend her heart didn't skip a beat when she saw him, but what's the point in denying. Her heart skipped a beat, it has been since the first time she saw him almost 13 years ago.

He swallows, feeling her eyes directed on him and he's not sure where to look. Her dark blue dress hugging her every curve, her auburn locks showing him just a tad more skin than he's used to. She offers him a smile and he's about to reproduce one when he sees her turn around at the sound of another door opening.

His breath falters and he looks away, his feet already carrying him inside.

He wants to pretend it doesn't bother him she's there with someone else, but him and everyone else knows that's not true. That when it comes to Donna, everything that doesn't involve him bothers him.

She turns around quickly, his name dying on her lips as she's greeted with an empty spot next to her.

"Who were you talking to?" Rachel's voice wakes her up from her thoughts and she faces her friend again. "No one," she presses her lips together, but the brunette knows enough. The car next to theirs can only be his.

She links her arm around her friends, a bigger smile now plastered on her face. It's a facade. A mask, but she has to be strong for Rachel. "Let's get inside," she guides the woman on her arm to the restaurant. She spots him right way again. He's sitting at a table with two children. Probably nieces of Scottie or her soon to be husband. It's probably the singles table and she kind of has to bite her lip.

 _Harvey Specter at the singles table amongst children._

A small tug on her arm brings her back to reality. She stares into the eyes of her best friend. They're watery and she sees it in an instant. The brunette doesn't have the strength to be here. At a wedding. The exact place she lost Mike.

"I.. I .. I can't," the associate shakes her head, making Donna wrap her arms around her. "Do you want me to come with you?" The brunette shakes her head wiping away a few tears, "no," she places a kiss on Donna's cheek. "You have fun.. Promise me you have fun." Donna swallows, her head crooked and her gaze landing on him before she faces Rachel again.

She wishes she could confirm that with the confidence she usually has, but after all this time, she can't. "I'll be fine, Rachel." Her lips pressed into a small smile as she watches the other woman walk away. She lets out a deep breath, before she faces the restaurant again. She tries to ignore how her gaze searches for him automatically, and it doesn't help when he looks at her too.

She didn't want to be alone, but maybe being alone might be the best thing after all.

She forces a smile on her lips, looking around the room searching for the table she's seated at. Her fingers trace the white table cloth, her eyes scanning the little signs as she moves from table to table, inevitably coming closer and closer to the table he's seated at.

Two tables to go, she finally recognises her own name. Or to be precise, the " _Donna Paulsen Plus One_ " card. A frown on her face she walks around the table twice, but her own card isn't there.

It isn't there.

She's about to sit down on the seat that was supposed to be next to hears when she hears him laugh. Rolling her eyes she already knows why, and in a firm pace she walks over to him. "What?" she crooks her head, her eyes meeting his for a second and he just smirks breaking the eye contact. Tapping with his knife on the name plate next to his seat.

"Looks like you're sitting here," his voice is playful and she can't help but notice how the corners of his lips are slightly tugged upwards. "Am I?" she crosses her arms in front of her chest, her hip angling to the side, she towers above him. "That's what's in the cards," he contours, turning a bit to face her.

"And how did my card end up here?" she challenges him pointing at the object again. A nervous laugh escaping from her lips as he gets up all of a sudden and she takes a step back. "Because you're sitting here," he reason pulling her chair back for her. It's a small gesture, but he has always been and will always be a gentleman when it comes to her.

She looks away, biting her tongue as she sits down. She's not going to get the answer out of him, but seeing one of the kids take place on what she assumes was her original seat, she already knows what happened.

She waits for him to sit down next to her, but he asks her to wait instead and he returns with two drinks not soon after. A Manhattan for her and a scotch for him. Her fingers scrape past his for the briefest of moments and both of them look away, missing how they react exactly the same to each other's touch.

"Thanks," she whispers taking a sip from her glass before she faces him again. "You did however forget to move my plus one's card to this table," her eyebrows raised, she's testing him. She sees him swallow quickly, his jaw clenching for a second and she bites her lip to stop herself from smiling.

"Where's that Mitchell dude anyway?" he tries to recover himself, the words sounding more like an accusation than he likes to admit. But he's seriously wondering. His words take her of guard. "Mitchell?" she repeats confused.

"Yeah, you know the guy you were seeing," he counters. It are words he doesn't like to pronounce, but now that he addressed the topic he needs to know. "I haven't seen him in quite a while now," she takes a sip from her drink. "Not since I told him I couldn't continue lying to myself."

It's his turn to swallow now, the words are music to his ears and he's got an idea as to why she did what she did. But he can't ask, can he? He doesn't want to sound desperate, something he actually is.

"And your plus one then?"

"Rachel," she smiles looking at him again. "Wanted her to have a fun night after everything.." she paused looking away, her words more than just about Rachel. "But she left. So it's just me," her shoulders raised briefly before she looks at him again. "And how did Harvey Reginald Specter end up at the singles table?"

He lets out a laugh at her words, but it's true. The perpetual bachelor is still a bachelor, it's nothing to laugh about, but it's the way she says his full name that warms his heart. He never realised how much he loved hearing her say just his name.

Maybe just as much as he likes saying hers. "It's just me, Donna," he counters using her words.

He raises his glass, ticking it against hers. "To us being.." he swallows in the word single. "Here," she fills in his words, a smile on her face as she looks at him. "Here," he repeats smiling at her.

.

To say this is how she pictured the evening to be is a far stretch, but he was part of every thought she had about it. She just never imagined them in the middle of the children's table. Plenty of entertainment around her if she had needed it, but there never fell a silence between them.

Their eyes almost directed at the other the entire evening. Her chair is closer to his and his arm might be leaning on the back rest of her chair as she finishes her drink. "Do you want another one?" his lips are near her ear and she melts as she feels the warmth of his breath tickle her skin.

Her eyes meet his again, she has this devilish smile on her lips as she reaches for his glass with scotch. "I'm good," she smiles. He smirks, his fingers falling around her wrist as she moves the glass towards her lips. "That's mine," he teases her, his thumb moving over her pulse point not willing to let go. She feels her heart beat starting to increase and she's pretty sure he notices to. Her gaze falling on his fingers caressing her wrist, but she doesn't stop him.

"I have access to your bank accounts," she counters looking at him, "so I can pretty much have what's yours." He laughs, letting go of her hand as he watches her take a sip from his glass. She's looking up to him from under her eye lashes and if he wasn't already in love with this woman he would have fallen in love with her now. She always had a witty comeback ready. She's the only one to put him in his place.

He hears he soft moan escaping her lips as she lifts the glass from her lips. She's playing him and he knows it, his eyes tracing the way her tongue slides over her bottom lip making him swallow, but two can play that game, his hand falls around hers again. Taking the crystal tumbler from her fingers, downing the final sip from his glass himself.

His signature smirk plastered on his face as he looks at her. She swallows, not sure why she does it. She can blame it on the alcohol, but that wouldn't be fair. It's all her, a combination of the proximity they're in, the tension and the words they both exchanged but never discussed.

Her thumb moving over the corner of his mouth, removing one droplet of the Macallen 36 that lingered there, before she licks it from her finger. The glass lands on the table in mere seconds, before his fingers hook around her wrist once more. Their eyes locking and their noses nearly brushing, when a loud giggle makes them look at the table around them again. The kids are whispering and pointing at them.

"Are you two a couple?" the youngest girl on the table stares at them with big eyes

"Uhm," both of them lost for words as they look at each other again briefly, their hands falling down. "Because my daddy always said that you can only share a glass with the woman you're in a relationship with," the girl chirps.

He sees Donna slightly panic, her eyes directed at the plate with the desert in front of her. He hadn't even noticed the changes of dishes, but the whipped cream doesn't go unnoticed to him. He feels the little girls eyes burning on his skin, clearly still waiting for an answer, but he knows Donna is too and as much as he wants to say yes, he can't.

It's not the truth and he wants to do this right.

"Your dad sounds like a very wise man," he answers, his hand reaching for Donna's under the table, hoping she'll take that as an answer. For now. She lets his fingers slip between hers, softly squeezing his hand as a sign of agreement.

She meets his gaze again, he's smiling and she can't help but mirror his move as their hands are placed on his knee, he leans forward towards her whispering something about the desert in front of them and she lets out a laugh.

"It's not polite to whisper in company," the little girl counters and Harvey can't help but laugh at how she could be a mini version of Donna and him. The thought leaving his mind just as fast as it came. "Sorry," he smiles, letting his hand slip from Donna's and placing it back on the backrest of her chair. Her fingers caressing his knee as she looks back at him.

"They're definitely a couple," another kid comments and the rest of the children laugh.

"Are you two getting married?" the little girl asks again, her sentence not even fully pronounced before another kid butts in. "Are you living together?"

"Do you want kids?"

"And a dog?"

"We have a puppy," his fingers caressing her shoulder and she nods at the kids hoping they'll back off now, "but look at your ice cream, kids. Can't let that melt." Harvey takes a bite of his cake himself, maybe stuffing his mouth with food will stop these kids from asking questions he wants to say yes to, but can't.

Not now.

It seems like the distraction is working as the kids attention is directed to the ice cream in front of them immediately. His eyes meeting hers once more, as her hand caresses his leg. It's so not them, and yet it is. Not a word exchanged about what's actually going on between them.

.

He drags her to the dance floor as soon as the first dance is finished, not willing to be ambushed with questions by these children again. He swirls her around until she lands against his chest. Her arms falling around his neck and his hands move to the small of her back.

"Harvey," her voice slow, her lips soft against the skin of his neck. "Donna," her name leaving his lips in that special tone he only uses for her. "What are we doing?" She sounds unsure and he can't blame her. Twelve years of mixed signals and taking back every step they set in the right direction wasn't easy on him either.

He lifts his chin from the crook of her neck, his right hand moving up until his fingers hook under her chin. Making her look at him.

"Everything we were supposed to be doing for the past twelve years," he swallows. "I ... I -"

She silences him with her lips on his. Pulling him closer, their tongues telling a story twelve years in the making. "I love you too," she mumbles against his lips as she pulls back again. Her words making him smile and he presses his lips against the top of her head. They continue dancing together for the rest of the evening, their bodies pressed together, same for their lips.

She told him later that night that she used to have a rule about never hooking up at a wedding. He finally told her how he really felt about her rules all along. He finally did what he should have done years ago. Break the rules, bend the rules, or rewrite the rules.

All of which he did that night; he took her hand that day and never let her go again.

The questions the kids asked at the table around them, being asked between the two of them again in the course of just a few weeks. All of them they answered with just one word.

Three letters. _Yes._

 **The end**


End file.
